Blasts in Iraq kill at least 26 people dead and 94 wounded

One of the bloodiest attacks occurred at noon when a car bomb exploded near the headquarters of the local security forces in Daqouq, in northern Iraq. When police arrived on the scene to assist a roadside bomb exploded, killing seven policemen. Another 35 people were injured. More than a hundred people have died in violence across the country so far this August, in a demonstration that the insurgents led by a group linked to al-Qaeda remains a lethal force that left eight months after U.S. troops in the country. The carnage on Thursday began with a dawn attack on a military housing. Insurgents placed four bombs around his home near the city of Kirkuk, said police commander, Gen. Sarhad Qadir. The officer was unhurt, but his brother died and six other family members were injured. Hours later, a bomb attached to a car exploded near a street of restaurants, and one person died and 15 others were injured, said Qadir. Another car bomb near a police car followed, wounding two policemen and two bystanders. A few hours later, two car bombs exploded simultaneously in a parking lot near a government office complex in the north of the city, injuring four people. Kirkuk is located 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad.